Purify. Provide. Protect.
Seasonal Freshwater Wetlands
The wetlands in this book share several features. They are largely freshwater (lack tidal inputs), usually fed by seasonal rains or high groundwater levels, and appear wet at the surface for only part of the year (typically winter through early spring). They also feature some of our most vital habitats for biodiversity in the state (including many species found nowhere else), and are also the ones most vulnerable to loss through human impacts.
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Wet Meadow |
Wet Meadows
Wet meadows are another freshwater wetland type that may escape notice for not appearing wet over much of the year. But they do receive sufficient groundwater; rainwater and/or snow melt to show standing water at the surface on a seasonal basis. Just below the surface, soils remain waterlogged for longer periods, supporting development of a plant community that includes a variety of reeds, sedges, rushes, asters, goldenrods and other soggy-soil adapted plants.
Wet meadows also support unique wildlife species, most notably, the endangered bog turtle (see spotlight below). Because they appear dry at the surface for the better part of the year, wet meadows have often been viewed as non-wetland in nature and thus vulnerable to filling and draining for other uses. Where water source and soil conditions allow, wet meadows restoration projects are easily done.
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